Warmth
by Caillieach
Summary: Nyx hates the infirmary. He hates doctors proding at him, he hates being sick and being unable to do anything at all is slowly driving him up the walls. Good thing the Glaives are ready to rescue him from his boredom and creepy doctors.


**Author's Notes:**

This entire thing was a spur-of-the-moment plot bunny which literally jumped me and demanded to be written.

I haven't seen all that many stories about the Glaives just being a huge, somewhat dysfunctional but supportive family so I thought I'd do my part to increase the content and hopefully spread the Glaive love a little further. :)

I should probably also mention that I have absolutely no medicinal knowledge - I have no idea what exactly Nyx contracted, it's just all around unpleasant and keeps him bedridden for a week or two. So if you do know more about medicine than I do...please just ignore my obvious lack thereof? ;)

The entire thing is unbeta'ed, so I apologize for any mistakes you may find in advance.

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**Disclaimer:**

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, here: Square Enix. Any possible future original characters & plots are my own. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended. I do not earn money with this.

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Nyx sneezed. For the fourth time in as many minutes, probably less. He groaned. _'Hell, could this please stop already?'_ he thought miserably. His entire body ached, a bone-deep weariness that made moving incredibly exhausting and the lumpy, frankly uncomfortable mattress didn't exactly help with that. Every movement felt as if he was wading through that thick, blue sludge Tredd was so fond of drinking and that reminder of that obviously disgusting beverage only served to send a shudder down his spine, so not helping.

Somehow, he had managed to contract _'something'_ from that Behemoth he slayed during the last battle and it wasted no time in causing his immune system to go haywire. Which was just his luck to be honest. What exactly that something was, was anyone's guess. No one really knew. The doctor treating him had wasted no time to call in a so-called _'expert'_ from Insomnia Central because their tiny infirmary was equipped to deal with all kinds of battle wounds but this…not so much. To say that Nyx took an instant dislike to the creepy guy with greasy hair and glasses that always seemed to reflect the light in ominous ways was an understatement.

Nyx groaned as another cold shiver racked his spine. _'Got it, don't think about Dr. McCreepy anymore.'_

So far, only one good thing had come from having that Creep poke and prod him for hours. He had finally been declared _'not contagious'_ so at least Libertus was due to bustle in soon and relieve his boredom for a time, he hoped. Because it had been three days and he felt absolutely miserable – his body hurt, he felt cold almost all the time and his stomach happily let him know what it thought of the crappy infirmary food so he had kind of given up on that, too – but his brain still worked mostly fine and staying still for a prolonged amount of time had never been his strong suit.

Faint voices and heavy footsteps had Nyx perking up. As if he had actually been summoned, Lib poked his head through the door before it was unceremoniously pushed open from someone behi- …oh.

They were all here. _Every single one._

Nyx swallowed heavily and forced his body to comply as he sluggishly sat up. As expected, there was Libertus, obviously, wearing his trademark 'I'm-concerned-but-annoyed-with-you' look of his. Crowe was there too, pushing through under Lib's arm with a wide grin on her pretty face followed by Tredd who wore an impish grin (uh oh, that never bode well in Nyx's experience) as he hip-checked Libertus on his way through and Pelna who shot him a gentle smile even as he patted a disgruntled Libertus on the shoulder. And there was Luche, trying to appear his usual unflappable self and failing because his worry was easy to spot in the slight crease between his eyes. Even Sonitus and Axis were there which was a really nice surprise, Nyx thought.

And behind them…Nyx breath caught in his throat for a moment because behind his friends, the tall figure of Drautos loomed in the doorway.

_'Even the Captain came…'_ A warmth seemed to radiate from his core into every corner of his soul. _'They all came to see me.'_

"Nyx, you idiot!" Libertus practically pushed everyone else aside as he rushed to his bedside and- "Ouch, Lib, what the hell!" Nyx squawked when Libertus lightly cuffed his head (it still hurt, everything hurt). "Never do that again, you hear me?! You're hereby officially forbidden from **ever** going near a fricking Behemoth ever again!" Nyx couldn't quite hide his grin at Libertus' huffing and puffing as the others settled around him on the few chairs available or perched on the windowsill (Drautos and Sonitus) – or on his crappy hospital bed in Crowe's case which really didn't surprise him. She usually operated on "what is yours is mine" and clearly that translated to his bed too.

"What are you guys doing here?" he finally managed to ask when his best friend took a breath in between his tirade.

"What does it look like, hero?" Crowe lightly nudged the leg near her. "Doing our duty of being the bestest friends ever, obviously." She grinned, seemingly quite satisfied with herself, and for a moment she reminded Nyx painfully of Selena who used to wear the exact same expression when she managed to blindside him. He quickly shook his head despite his muscle's protest to discard the thought. He loved and missed Selena, but…it was alright, it had been so long since he'd lost her, the hurt had lost its edge a few years ago. And besides, he somehow managed to acquire another little sister, he thought fondly as he watched Crowe shut Libertus' tirade up.

"I guess we'll have to call you puppy instead of hero from now on, huh Nyx?" Tredd quipped from his right. He supposed his confusion must have been evident judging by the chuckles coming from Sonitus, Axis and Luche.

"Why…?" he croaked and felt another warm rush of gratitude as Pelna stood and pressed a cup of blessedly cool water into his hand a moment later with a small but genuine smile.

"Well, you somehow managed to catch the rabies from a giant, overgrown dog against all odds so…puppy it is."

_'So that's where that impish grin was coming from. He probably couldn't wait to throw that at me'_, Nyx thought even as a tiny amused snort escaped him. Which promptly caused him to descend into a thankfully short coughing fit. _'Right, sore and dry throat, doesn't agree with snorting. Got it.`_

"It's not…it's not that." He feebly protested anyway because maybe he wasn't at his best, but he'd be damned if he let the redhead get away with that remark. To his left, Libertus huffed. "Could have fooled me. Admit it, Nyx, you're always up to some mischief and somehow you always get away with it, Astrals know how."

"You do have the puppy eyes down pat, Nyx, especially when it comes to avoiding paperwork." Nyx turned betrayed eyes on a very amused Luche who just shrugged. He desperately wanted to disagree when-

"They do have a point, Ulric, there's no use in refuting it." Drautos only arched one eyebrow at the wounded expression Nyx made at him (even as his stomach did an odd little flip at the Captain's nice, deep voice – which he'd _forever_ deny).

"You do know it's poor taste to pick on the bedridden guy, right?" He drily addressed the room at large even though he couldn't completely suppress his own grin. As if to drive the point home, he couldn't hide how he swayed in place for a moment because his traitorous sense of balance decided it was the perfect time to take a short vacation. Immediately, he felt Luche's steadying hand between his shoulder blades and although he was loath to admit his own weakness, he subtly leaned into it. It was warm and felt comfortable anyway and he was still cold.

"Maybe you should lie back down, puppy." Tredd still wore that infuriating grin of his, but it seemed less…wide and Nyx could see genuine worry in his eyes when he met his gaze. "…maybe I should" he conceded unhappily and swatted at Lib's and Crowe's hands when they reached for him. "Stop it, guys, I may be ill but I'm not an invalid, I can lie down on my own!" Rather tellingly though, he did not protest Luche's silent support as he lay back down and awkwardly shuffled beneath his blanket. He was loath to lose the warmth the other's hand provided but at least the blankets still had some heat trapped beneath them, so he happily burrowed himself in them and blinked a little owlishly up at the others.

"Are you cold?" Sometimes, Crowe was scarily perceptive, Nyx thought, before he automatically found himself nodding at her. Damn it all. He loathed feeling small and helpless which he had been feeling like ever since the incident. Logically, he knew that not one of those surrounding him would hold it against him, but he felt so unlike himself and he hated it. His increasingly despondent thoughts were interrupted by Axis who appeared next to him (and he hadn't even noticed the man moving, huh) and placed somethi-…oh. _Warmth._ The first thing he noticed was the blissful warmth radiating from whatever Axis had placed in his arms.

_'A hot-water bottle. He got me a hot-water bottle.`_

Instinctively curling around it and greedily soaking up the warmth, he glanced up. "Axis, man, I love you." He murmured reverently which prompted another round of fond chuckles.

"There's herbal tea too, donated from the Captain's personal stash." Pelna set a tea pot down on the tiny table next to his head. A mixture of chamomile, fennel, anise and mint wafted over from the steaming pot. "It should help with settling your stomach, right Captain?"

"It should." Drautos nodded and unfurled his arms. "And it should soothe your nerves a bit too, so make sure you drink some and get some sleep, alright?"

Numbly, Nyx nodded, which seemed to satisfy Drautos if the nod he received in return was any indication. _'That's oddly sweet coming from the Captain…I did not expect that.'_

A gentle nudge to his leg steered his attention back to Crowe. "You listen to him, yeah? You really should get some rest, sleep this off." She quietly told him and added "And that`s our cue, guys, the puppy needs rest, let him sleep!" a little louder.

Nyx rolled his eyes at the nickname. "I'll never get rid of that again, will I?" he asked Libertus. "Yeah, no. Not even if the King banned it by royal decree." His best friend merrily confirmed his suspicion immediately. "Crowe's right, folks, come on, get outta here." He added and proceeded to usher a reluctant Sonitus up who patted his arm in a silent goodbye before he dragged Axis and Tredd with him. Pelna followed with a friendly pat to his foot and a heartfelt "Get well soon, Nyx".

The Captain too pushed away from where he had been leaning against the windowsill. "Make sure you get your rest. I won't clear you for duty before you're not back at a 100% so there's no use in rushing it. Understood?" Nyx nodded and mumbled a "Yes, sir" which seemed to be enough because Drautos have him a short nod and left. Which left him with Libertus, Crowe and Luche.

"You make sure you get back to your feet soon, alright?" she said and tugged his blanket a little higher.

"Yeah, yeah, I will. Now stop behaving as if you were my mom. Shoo."

"Well, clearly someone needs to look after your reckless ass." _'Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Libertus.`_ "I`ll bring you some books tomorrow, so don't even think of getting up to look for something to do before then, yeah?"

"Sounds great, Lib, thanks. No trashy romance novels though or you were my best friend for the longest time." He gave his almost-brother a tired grin. "Yeah, okay, no trashy romance novels, got it." Libertus nodded and turned to Crowe. "Come on, let his royal pain in the arse get some sleep." If he heard Nyx squawk indignantly at that, he ignored it like he was wont to do ever since they became friends back in Galahd.

A hand lightly ruffling his hair demanded his attention and when he looked up, Luche was intently gazing down at him. "You get some rest and get better soon, okay, Nyx?"

"I'll do my best." He drily answered. "Thank you for coming to visit me. Tell the others too?" Thankfully, Luche didn't comment on the obvious gratefulness or fondness in his voice.

"Will do. See you later, Nyx." And with that, he left the room and quietly shut the door behind him as he made to follow Libertus and Crowe.

A little forlornly, Nyx cuddled the hot-water bottle closer to his stomach and stared at the closed door for a moment. He felt…not better, exactly, at least not physically. But their surprise visit, as short as it had been, had considerably cheered him up and left a warm feeling in his chest and Nyx felt…cared for. Appreciated. Loved.

He yawned. As nice a surprise as it had been, it had also thoroughly depleted his at the moment rather limited energy supply. Smiling faintly, he closed his eyes, snuggled deeper into his pillow and eventually fell asleep to the subtle aroma of chamomile, fennel, anise and mint in the air, feeling warm and safe all over in his cocoon of blankets.


End file.
